Detailed Notes on Prairie Dogs: A Chat with Prof. John Hoogland of the University of Maryland

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we are discussing the interesting characteristics, colonies, mating practices, defense maneuvers, and kinship structures of prairie dogs --- yes, prairie dogs: those once-plentiful-but-now-dwindling rodents that exist in five different species throughout the grasslands of North America. Highly communicative and actually able to "speak" via several distinct and sophisticated (and quite discernable) calls, these burrowing mammals have long been studied --- much like, say, apes or whales --- for social/behavioral reasons. Our guest is John Hoogland, a professor at the University of Maryland, who's been studying the "evolutionary ecology and behavior of prairie dog populations" for the past 40 years or so. Prof. Hoogland will deliver a free-to-the-public address this afternoon (Friday the 7th) at 3pm here at TU as part of a Biological Science Seminar. His address is will occur in Room 300 of Oliphant Hall; you can learn more about the seminar in question here. (And, just FYI, you can read a "bio" for our guest at this link.)